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Colossus
|rarity = Very Rare |casting_cost = |upkeep_cost = per turn |research_cost = |num_figures = |moves = |melee = |ranged = |defense = |resist = |hits = |abilities = Ranged Attack x2 +30% To Hit Wall Crusher Poison Immunity Stoning Immunity First Strike }} The Colossus is a type of Fantastic Unit featured in Master of Magic. It is summoned using the Summoning Spell of the same name. Packing a powerful punch in both and , the Colossus can trample over large armies with ease. It possesses a wide range of combat abilities, including primarily First Strike and a To Hit bonus, the combination of which enable it to take out the enemy's most powerful units in one-on-one combat. The Fantastic Unit Physical Description A Colossus is a gigantic humanoid, many times larger than an adult human. Its true nature is hard to discern, as it is clad from head to toe in shining golden armor, capped with a large and imposing helmet. The Colossus is a . Attack Properties The Colossus is an extremely potent warrior. It possesses both a Melee Attack and a Ranged Attack, and both are powerful enough to wipe the floor with its enemies. The Colossus's Melee Attack has a strength of . The amazing bonus allows it to deliver around points of with each attack, on average. This is then coupled with a First Strike ability, allowing the Colossus to destroy its enemies before they can fight back. Even before it reaches its target, the Colossus can lob massive boulders at its enemies, a Ranged Boulder Attack with a power of . Like the Melee Attack described above, this enjoys a bonus, which means the Colossus is extremely dangerous even at a distance. It can launch up to two boulders in each battle this way. Both attacks enjoy the benefits of the Wall Crusher ability. The Colossus can target individual City Wall sections, and has a 25% chance of destroying them with its Ranged Attacks, or 50% with the Melee ones. In either case, if an enemy unit is standing adjacent to and inside the targeted wall section, the attack will target both the wall and the enemy unit. Any wall section destroyed by this attack will remain in ruins for the rest of the battle - but will be fully repaired when the next siege begins. Defensive Properties Thanks to its thick armor, the Colossus has one of the highest natural Defense ratings of any unit, at . This allows it to block around points of Conventional Damage each time it is attacked, which should be enough to prevent practically all damage from enemy low-tier or even mid-tier units. However, by the time a Colossus enters play, the enemy will usually also be able to field its own high-tier units that will have little trouble dishing even through this much armor. So while a Colossus can survive protracted battles against weaker units and remain mostly unharmed, it is still in danger when fighting units of its own tier. Fortunately, the Colossus has a large pool of Hit Points, at , which will help it last longer in combat against strong opponents. Again, the First Strike ability can be used to destroy the enemy before it even has a chance to retaliate, thus protecting the Colossus from harm. Finally, the Colossus is almost entirely immune to Unit Curses and other ill effects, thanks to its exceptionally-high Resistance rating of . This includes virtually all Special Attacks. None but the most powerful maledictions stand any chance of affecting the Colossus, so spells against it should be limited to direct-damage, or ones that simply cannot be resisted at all. The Colossus also possesses both Poison Immunity and Stoning Immunity, rendering it completely impervious to Poison Damage and Stoning Damage, respectively. Of course, due to its incredibly-high score, these immunities are mostly redundant - but may come in handy if the Colossus' Resistance score is ever reduced somehow by the enemy. Other Properties Thanks to its great stride-length, the Colossus can move at a rate of both in and out of combat. This allows it to rapidly cover the distance towards its enemy, rendering it less vulnerable to Ranged Attacks. Basic Tactics Tactically speaking, there is little that can stop a Colossus when it's rampaging across the battlefield. In fact, even its initial Ranged Attacks can easily cripple or destroy most low- or mid-tier units. It usually starts combat by using these Ranged Attacks against the most dangerous target on the battlefield, to weaken it before closing in for the kill. If the enemy is using its own Ranged Attackers, the Colossus may spend its ammo destroying at least one of them as soon as possible. If facing highly-armored Ranged Attackers, the Colossus may need to close the distance before launching its Ranged Attacks. This minimizes the range penalties, ensuring that the Colossus has the best chance of damaging such units before engaging in Melee. Generally, the Colossus is best used for destroying high-level enemy targets, especially if it gets to use its First Strike ability to take them out before they can retaliate. It is not uncommon to see a Colossus rushing into and killing a Champion outright. Enemy Colossi Colossi are only rarely encountered as neutral monsters, and will often appear in only one or two locations across the entire overland map, if at all. They may be accompanied by all sorts of smaller creatures when they do appear. The best way to dispatch a Colossus is to attack it with powerful Ranged Attacks and direct-damage spells. Even then however, an army may need several Ranged Attackers concentrating their fire on the Colossus to bring it down quickly enough - before it can close the distance and annihilate those units in hand-to-hand combat. For the first two rounds of combat, the creature will likely also be returning fire, and may easily kill the least-defended units. The only practical way to avoid this is through the use of Invisibility, whether natural or enchanted. Barring access to strong Ranged Attackers, a powerful (and very-well ) Melee Attacker (and preferably several) could be used instead, since the Colossus will deal heavy damage in retaliation. Maneuvering in a way that prevents the creature from utilizing its First Strike can be very important here; otherwise, it may end up destroying the attackers before they can do any damage to it. Special Attacks are often entirely useless against Colossi - although those that deal Conventional Damage may still be able to chip away at its health. Armor Piercing attacks and Illusion Damage are especially potent against this creature. Weaker units may find that they cannot hurt a Colossus at all. Ganging up on even a single one with masses of low- or mid-tier units is often entirely futile. Ability Overview Ranged Attack x2 * This unit may use a instead of a Melee Attack twice in each battle. Once the unit's ammo is expended, it must resort to Melee Attacks. +30% To Hit * This unit has an extra to hit its target with every die of its Attack Rolls. This improves its statistical chance to inflict more with each attack it makes. Wall Crusher * This unit can make and/or (as available) against City Walls. Each attack has a certain chance to destroy the targeted wall section for the remainder of the battle. * A Ranged Attack has a 25% chance of destroying the targeted wall section. A Melee Attack has a 50% chance of destroying the targeted wall section. * If an enemy unit is standing behind the wall when it is attacked, the Wall Crusher unit attacks that unit as well. Defense bonuses to the target unit depend on whether or not the wall is destroyed during this attack. * This ability can only destroy City Walls. Other, magical wall types are not affected. Poison Immunity * This unit cannot be hurt by Poison Damage. It will automatically pass any roll to avert such damage. Stoning Immunity * This unit cannot be petrified by Stoning Damage. It will automatically pass any roll to avert such damage. First Strike * When this unit makes a during its own turn, it delivers its Melee Damage before the target does. * Any enemy killed in the First Strike do not get to deal their own damage to the attacker. * First Strike damage is dealt after Breath-, Thrown-, and Gaze Attacks (if any). * First Strike does not work when the unit is Counter Attacking (i.e. when retaliating to an attack by an enemy unit). The Summoning Spell Usage Colossus may only be cast overland, for the base Casting Cost of . Upon successfully casting the spell, the new Colossus unit will appear in the Town currently containing the Wizard's Summoning Circle, with full Movement Allowance, and may move and/or attack immediately as necessary. To keep the Colossus in play, its controller is required to pay an Upkeep Cost of per turn. This is drawn automatically from the caster's pool at the beginning of each turn while the unit exists. Failure to pay this Upkeep due to lack of will lead to the Colossus immediately disappearing, along with any Unit Enchantments currently affecting it. However, this upkeep is for the unit, not for the spell: Summoning Spells can not be dispelled by the enemy once cast. Naturally though, if the unit is destroyed, then it is gone from the world entirely, and there is no further need to pay its Upkeep Cost. Units summoned on the overland map may also be dismissed manually from their unit statistics window the same way as any other overland unit (during their controller's turn, while not in combat). Acquisition As a Very Rare Spell of the Realm, Colossus may become available to any Wizard who acquires at least Spellbooks. With any less, the spell can normally not be learned during the campaign. This is the minimum requirement for it to be traded for, appear in Treasure, or be found in the spoils of victory when conquering the Fortress of a rival Wizard who already knows it. The base chance for Colossus to be researchable (at some point) in the campaign is roughly 10% (with books), which gradually increases with the amount of Spellbooks possessed or found during gameplay. With or more, the spell is certain to show up sooner or later, unless acquired from another source. It has a Research Cost of , although its research is quicker for Wizards possessing the Sage Master, Conjurer, and/or Nature Mastery Retorts; or a bookshelf containing or more. Colossus may not be acquired at the start of the game, regardless of the amount of books selected from the starting picks. It must always be either researched or found. However, a bug exists in the official game, that may occasionally allow Colossus to be researched with only books despite its Rarity. This can happen if, and only if, the second Spellbook comes from Treasure, as it then allows a random Very Rare Spell to be researched, which has a flat 10% chance of being this spell. This oversight is corrected in the Unofficial Patch 1.50. Category:Units Category:Fantastic Creatures Category:Nature